Superstitious Chan and Pan get back on track #WorldCupofGolf

Melbourne, Australia, November 25: Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan and Chan Shih-chang got superstitious at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf on Friday and it paid off with a solid seven-under-par 65 in the fourball session.

After dropping three shots in their closing two holes in Thursday’s opening foursomes, the Chinese Taipei duo looked out of sorts early on at Kingston Heath Golf Club by dropping two bogeys in their opening three holes in the best ball format.However, they fought back superbly by registering nine birdies over the remaining 15 holes which pushed them up to tied 10th place on five-under-par 139, some seven shots behind new leaders Denmark, represented by Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen. The Danes carded a scintillating 60 for a three-shot lead into the weekend rounds. SSP Chawrasia and ChikkarangappaPan, who recently earned his PGA TOUR card, was delighted with the way he and Chan, a two-time Asian Tour champion this season, fought back. “It was great. I mean, we fought back well. We had a terrible start,” said the 25-year-old Pan, a former world amateur number one.“My focus wasn't on, it wasn't sharp, so I think my partner did all the work in the first three holes. We made nine birdies on the last 15 holes and then we missed a couple here and there. We are really happy.”Chan and Pan were determined to not stumble late in the day, as was the case on Thursday when they dropped a costly double bogey and bogey in their closing two holes.“We are really superstitious,” said Pan. “On the 17 tee box yesterday we took out our jackets and we told ourselves not to do that today. I think that's a bad sign, so we fixed it. And we finished par, par today, missed a birdie putt on the last hole, so it was good, it was a good fix."Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee also concluded the halfway stage in joint 10th position following a 66, with the latter rolling in a nice birdie on 18.“We're a good team, but we missed a few putts,” said Thongchai, a three-time Asian Tour number one.Kiradech felt he let the team down. “It's just been a disappointing day. I didn't strike the ball good, I missed a lot of putts and kind of struggled when he made a mistake. We got one bogey which in fourball, that’s a big mistake,” said the 27-year-old Thai.“Thongchai was playing so well. He's getting a lot of chances and made big putts on 16 and the birdie on the last.”

"On the 17 tee box yesterday we took out our jackets and we told ourselves not to do that today. I think that's a bad sign, so we fixed it. And we finished par, par today, missed a birdie putt on the last hole, so it was good, it was a good fix." - C.T. Pan

Thongchai is confident they can reduce the seven-shot deficit in Saturday’s foursomes session, which is the tougher format. “Kiradech is going to come back tomorrow. He can make something,” he said.Team India carded a 66 with Chawrasia playing the anchor when Chikkarangappa struggled early on. “I was supported by my partner because whenever I hit a bad shot or even when I'm not in play, he just kept telling me it's okay, it's all right, just stay in there,” said Chikkarangappa, who is making his debut in the prestigious team event.Chawrasia is hopeful they will move up the leaderboard with a strong showing in the third round. “We are a few shots behind, but there are two days to go and on this course, anything can happen. We just have to play our own game,” said Chawrasia, who has won twice this season on the Asian Tour.About ISPS HANDA ISPS, the International Sports Promotion Society, is a charitable organization that promotes sports, such as golf, polo and rowing, in a belief that sports and sporting platforms can help achieve world peace. It also supports blind golf as its founder and chairman Haruhisa Handa, dubbed the father of blind golf in Japan, is the first person in Japan to establish a blind golf club, which is now called the Japan Blind Golf Association.Dr Handa also serves as founder and chairman of the International Foundation for Arts and Culture, or IFAC, a nonprofit organization established to promote social welfare activities through music and art events. IFAC is title sponsor to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, one of the most celebrated events in the arts calendar in Australia and internationally, which takes place between the end of March and the end of April every year.About Melbourne, Victoria Voted the world’s most livable city for the past six years, Melbourne is a leader in staging international sporting and cultural events, with its super-friendly people ready to welcome World Cup of Golf visitors. The city is famed for its laneways and cafe culture, known as Australia's coffee capital, and is home to vibrant arts, music and fashion scenes. Melbourne's food credentials are attracting global attention and the city is the gateway to Victoria, including 21 wine regions, the stunning Great Ocean Road scenic drive and abundant native Australian wildlife. Victoria's landscapes offer everything from international surf beaches, islands and coastal experiences to Alpine mountain ranges and inland lakes. Victoria is also a popular destination for domestic and international golfing.Media assistance is available for World Cup media wishing to develop destination related content, research locations for outside broadcasts, interview local personalities and access rights free footage. Please contact [email protected] with any requests. Destination information is also available at www.visitmelbourne.comAbout the International Federation of PGA Tours The International Federation of PGA Tours was formed in 1996 by golf’s five world governing bodies – the European Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour (South Africa PGA Tour) with the purpose of providing a forum for the world’s professional golf organizations to discuss issues of mutual importance and, together, develop and promote the game of golf on a global basis. As part of its mission, the Federation initiated the World Golf Championships in 1999. The Asian Tour joined the International Federation of PGA Tours in November 1999.In step with global growth of professional golf, the International Federation of PGA Tours announced an expansion and restructuring of its membership in 2009, adding the International Golf Association and additional professional golf tours, including – for the first time – women’s golf tours: China Golf Association; Korea Professional Golfers’ Association; Professional Golf Tour of India; LPGA Tour; Ladies European Tour; Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour; Japan LPGA; Korean LPGA; and Ladies Asian Golf Tour.About the International Golf Association The International Golf Association (IGA) is a not-for-profit corporation, chartered in the State of New York in 1956. IGA is governed by its six-member Board of Directors. Jonathan Linen is the IGA Board Chairman. Through its association with the International Federation of PGA Tours, IGA continues its international goodwill through golf mission and looks forward to the 2016 return of the World Cup of Golf to Melbourne and a new Sandbelt region course in historic Kingston Heath Golf Club.

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